Apparatus for bending operations

Object of the present invention is to provide a method or a system by which an operator without skills in bending operation can easily and quickly perform precise bending operations on a sheet workpiece by following skilled operator's experience, hints or data. To achieve this object, the method of this present invention comprises the steps of storing data for a shape of said part; storing data for a bending order for manufacturing said part from said workpiece; selecting tools for performing each of bending operations; storing data for the selected dies; storing bending press control data for controlling the operation of said press to performs the bending operations in said bending order; and storing bending operation support information for supporting an operator for performing the bending operation by using said bending press. The bending operation support information includes at least one of hints regarding operations of: attaching a protective tape on the shoulder of a die; arranging small tools on the bending press so that punch and die are laterally shifted from each other; attaching small die on a ram with a fixing tape; aligning the punch and die relative to each other in a longitudinal direction; determining the original point of one of the punch and die relative to the other; positioning the workpiece relative to the punch and die; positioning the workpiece relative to a back gauge device; and checking a dimension of a shape of the workpiece after a bending operation.